At the start of each client project I put together a moodboard so my clients and I can visually brainstorm together. I love pulling inspirational images from all over the place to help tell the story we are setting out to create. Colors, patterns, textures, landscapes, typography...they all have an important role to play in the design matchup. This phase in the design process helps to develop a strong direction from the beginning.
Jenn is a Waco-based entrepreneur who had a majorly successful Kick Starter launch and founded Sacred Ordinary Days. This past January she released her first day planner and is now working on the next two. After working with her on her visual branding, I knew that I wanted to share some of her experience with you guys. Thankfully Jenn agreed and I really think you will love what she has to say.
So Jenn, I do have to say, in the last two years, you have launched your new brand, created a new product and you started a podcast. How would you even describe what it is that you do? Who is Jenn Giles Kemper?
I can't believe it's been two years! I think that just goes to show how incredible your work is-- it lasts and lasts. I've done logos and branding for businesses before and I was tired of it or had outgrown it in less than two years. The work that we did together for the Jenn Giles Kemper branding still feels spot on!
When we first worked together, I was a solo entrepreneur working at home from my front bedroom-turned-office. Now I lead a small team, which includes my husband, Grant. The two of us work in our downtown Waco studio and my right-hand woman, Hayley Johnson, works remotely from Fort Worth. Sacred Ordinary Days is the business that grew out of my one-on-one coaching, consulting, and spiritual direction work. At Sacred Ordinary Days, we create modern resources for Christian spiritual formation. Our tools are rooted in ancient practices, but translated with a clean aesthetic and accessible language. We draw from the liturgical calendar, the lectionary, the daily office, and many contemplative spiritual practices.
Thus far, between all the projects you have on your plate, and the ones that have been checked off the list, what part of this journey has been your favorite?
Our liturgical day planner is still the thing that I am most proud to have created. That's at the heart of everything we do! We're currently making some small changes and improvements for the Academic Edition, which will be available for pre-sale at sacredordinarydays.com as of May 2! We'll make several more improvements when we release the 2017 Liturgical Edition this fall. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to tweak and improve our products based on the feedback of our tribe members who are using the planner so many different ways!
Ok, but there is another part of this journey that has been wonderfully challenging and cool and educational. Since the beginning, I wanted to find a meaningful way to engage in this conversation about leaning into the church calendar. I started the Sacred Ordinary Days podcast alongside my friend and colleague, Lacy Clark Ellman of asacredjourney.net. From the beginning, our goal has been to meet our listeners where they are and, essentially, host a conversation about how the liturgical calendar relates to us today and how we incorporate in into our lives. Podcasting is brand new to us, but as they say, experience has been the best teacher.
That is great! So many things to look forward to! Although you created the “Sacred Ordinary Days” planner, your days are far less than ordinary. What do your days normally look like in the world of ministry, entrepreneurship, and marriage?
First, how cool is it that I get to be both a minister and an entrepreneur through Sacred Ordinary Days? I pinch myself weekly. I'm so grateful to have found/created this work. These days my husband, Grant, and I head in to our office at Anthem Studios around nine in the morning. He's been working with our business full-time for a month and a half. It's a big change from aerospace engineering, for sure, but we're really enjoying working together and having more flexibility in our schedules. We communicate with Hayley, our designer and creative director, throughout the day via Slack, Asana, and Skype. We're in the process of hiring a few more folks, so lately we've been focused on streamlining our workflow.
Our tasks vary quite a bit day to day, and while I love the excitement and variety, I find myself looking forward to a bit more routine as our team grows and I can be in charge of less. Some days I'm recording a podcast episode or writing a script for our next video shoot. Others days I’m writing our employee handbook and figuring out how to actually build the kind of business that I desire to lead, (we’ve been working out all the details-- from work schedules to health care to pay and everything in between). The relationships with our "tribe" (our customers, supporters, people in our corner) have been such a key component. We know exactly who we're creating with and for. We talk and listen daily in our facebook group and on social media using #sacredordinarydays. I'm loving instagram and have been SO grateful for quick conversations on twitter. Seeing people share our initial launch was amazing! You could almost see different circles and networks lighting up on a map of the internet. It was very humbling to see so many strangers be generous!
Yep! Sounds like the life of a successful entrepreneur. What makes you come alive in work, ministry and marriage?
I'm an extrovert and love collaborating, so working with people whom I thoroughly respect and enjoy is a dream come true. I love the days that have a mix of creating something, refining something based on collaboration with our people, and interacting with our tribe. The idea of Sacred Ordinary Days was born out of a need that I saw in my own life, and having others connect with that need and respond enthusiastically to our solution is crazy encouraging.
The desire for life-giving relationships seems to bleed over into every area of my life. I enjoy the process of curating a hospitable home to open our home to friends and family. Grant and I share a love of cooking and eating good food, especially when we can share those meals around a full table.
Tell us what one or two things about this last year that surprised you the most. Good, bad, whatever...
The biggest surprise was the moment that my calculated-risk-taking/fiscally conservative/needs-along-term-plan husband looked up from his spreadsheets and flowcharts (yes, literally) and said "I'm ready to quit my job and join Sacred Ordinary Days full-time." Even though we'd been working towards that idea, saving and planning for it to be possible, it was still a BIG moment. I think we both expected it to be at least another 6-12 months, but things fell into place quickly and he was ready!
Oh, also there was this one time when we launched our first planner on Kickstarter and reached our minimum funding goal less than two days in. Watching such a positive response to a project that was months and months in the making was absolutely indescribable.
Since we are now well into 2016 (crazy), since launching the Sacred Ordinary Days Planner this past November, what lays ahead for you?
Our long-term vision for Sacred Ordinary Days is that a new collection will release each year, with two main launch periods (one at the beginning of the year for our Liturgical Edition and one halfway through the year for our Academic Edition). We’re also working on a Weekly Planner to complement the Daily Planner we’ve already created. Other plans for 2016 include developing a Mini-Season for the podcast (coming this summer) and writing a book proposal!
Haha wow, book proposal + JGK = thriving.
How about some advice for anyone with a big dream. What are some helpful first steps to see that dream move towards a reality?
Love this question! Invest your time energy, and money (wisely, but generously) to learn what you need to learn. If you don't have much time or money, start with a book. As you have a little more, reinvest to take some courses. And, continue to do that! The other big thing is investing in real relationships. Invest in people that you love & that love you well. Invest in relationships that could become that, too. Your spouse, your family, friends, employees and contractors. Spend time with talented creators and doers who are also kind, good humans...you know?
This beautiful project came to me all the way from the historic district of St. Charles, Missouri! The owners of this endearing soap shop were in need for new branding that could visually communicate their handcrafted bushiness. Through my process of getting to know each client and their specific needs and desires I was able to nail down a few "aesthetic themes" as a starting place. "Modern apothecary", "natural ingredients", "classic", "elegant" and "clean", were all important descriptions that needed to be represented in this logo. My client also wanted to incorporate foliage of some kind into their visual branding, so I sketched out a few leaves and branches to help associate the "natural ingredients" part of their products. As I started sketching I realized I wanted the foliage piece to be neutral, not too fall, winter, or spring. It was important to create a logo that could easily brand their business, their regular product line, and their seasonal line without going over board one way or the other.
I love when clients want and understand the value of additional branding elements to go along side their logo. In this case PS (short for Provenance Soapworks) is an element they use quite often on their products and throughout their store. I came up with two different designs for the PS, one simple almost like a mark or seal that they could actually stamp into their products, and the other more whimsical and elegant.
I look forward to seeing the many new and classic products Provenance Soapworks will roll out over the coming years, knowing they have a branding that will withstand the test of time.
Graphic Design can imply many different things, and I am blessed to work on a variety of projects. This past week, the title "graphic designer" meant : creating playful illustrations, mocking up a website layout, editing some photography, designing a couple vehicle wraps, creating and curating the look and feel of a endowment campaign, as well as researching and presenting bid on a large project.
Never a dull moment!
Who doesn't love a great brand?! Im sure each of us have at least 3-5 brands that we admire, enjoy, and don't mind spending our time or money with. We return to that brand over and over because they have somehow built a relationship with us. It may be through their products, their customer service, or their mission and messaging. Hopefully it's all of the above.
A brand is more than a logo or a website, it is also your mission, your intention and the value you add to your customer’s experience on a consistent bases. Heidi Cohen of Riverside Marketing Strategies defines a brand as;
A brand creates emotional bonds with consumers. Brands are composed of intangible elements related to its specific promise, personality, and positioning and tangible components having identifiable representation including logos, graphics, colors and sounds. A brand creates perceived value for consumers through its personality in a way that makes it stand out from other similar products. Its story is intricately intertwined with the public’s perception and consistently provides consumers with a secure sense that they know what they’re paying for. In a world where every individual is also a media entity, your consumers own your brand (as it always was).
So yes, in regards to brands I wanted to share with you one local brand that I personally think is doing an outstanding job. I recently spent the afternoon in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas with my sister in law, who thankfully took me to Emporium Pies, a local pie shop in that neighborhood. I was very impressed and inspired by their brand through and through. I walked into this little house and was immediately transported to the "good ol' days" when life was simple, but still full of rich relationships and meaningful traditions. Emporium Pies invites you into their brand with every personal touch and well thought out detail of their business from the moment you enter to the moment you depart.
One aspect of their business that stands out {and I love}, is that all of their pies are handmade and all of their menu items change seasonally. Their pies contain no artificial preservatives, hydrogenated oils, dyes, or corn syrup. Now that is attention to detail and it adds value for a lot of their customers {like me}, making the quality of their product a very important part of their brand.
photo credit : Paul Wilkes
Also, the handmade touches and attention to detail are carried throughout their visual branding as well. As a graphic designer, one of the first things I noticed was their logo and the paper stock they have their marketing material printed on {Im guessing it's Neenah, pearlized 80# cover}, and they have added gold foiling. Their packaging stands alone and is also put together by hand, one at a time, right in front of you. Each piece is stamped with their logo, tied up with bakers twine, and placed into a woven pie basket. It's pretty special. Their team also has a huge roll to play. The way they greet and serve their customers, along with their cute personal style adds to the overall customer experience and personality of the Emporium Pie brand.
graphic design credit : Scott Hill and the Foundry Collective
A few other fun items to note :
— Their hand written notes sprinkled throughout the shop are clever. When you walk onto the porch you are greeted with a little sign that says, "Welcome to our Pie Shop. Please keep the door shut, so it doesn't become a fly shop." It’s whimsical, full of personalty, and captures a bit of who these ladies are.
— The Drunken Nut pie is really good!
— The vintage art prints in the shop are beautiful.
— And lastly, if you dine in, you pretty much feel like you are sitting in someone's home,
{in the best way} down to the dishes!
Now, don't you just want to take a road trip and snag some Emporium Pie right this instant!?
Do it!
What are some of your favorite brands that are capturing your attention? I would love to know!
Rio Brazos has been a well established caterer for years. With a reputation and a recognized name throughout Waco and central Texas, the design challenge was not to stray too far away from what is already so known. Originally, Rio Brazos wanted a logo that said "Waco" and therefore incorporated the city's suspension bridge. However, their old logo didn't exactly represent the catering side of their company along with the idea of it being local (Waco). Through our discussions about the rebrand, incorporating the suspension bridge was still a desire of high priority for them; therefore, tying in the food aspect was going to be necessary and the challenge.
For me, the sketching/brainstorming process seemed like it went on for hours and days. Even without a pencil in hand, I was still drawing and playing with ideas in my head trying to feel this one out. I wanted to try and illustrate the artistic and creative thought behind how they prepare their food and menus as well as tie in their foundation of classic, traditional cuisine. The sketchy, whimsical bridge paired with the strong, clean lines of the typography coincide perfectly, just like fine ingredients complimenting each other in a delicious dish. In coming up with the colors, I had fun being inspired by classic, rich ingredients such as cream and cinnamon. When I think of classic cooking, I often think of copper pots and pans and therefore wanted to incorporate the richness of the copper foiling.
I am happy with the way this logo turned out and how it represents Rio Brazos Cuisine for being established in Waco and for being about the creative pallet.
The inaugural volume of The Kindred. We wondered if it was possible to create something so lovely in such a small city. Thank you for helping us exceed people’s expectations of the level of beauty this town can create. With this book we are hoping to provide the ultimate resource for Waco weddings and events. The best of the best. Thoughtfulness, integrity, and unleashed creativity was poured into each page of this book. In our industry, there is nothing like a referral from someone in the know. We consider The Kindred to be the loveliest version of “word of mouth”. We give this book to each of our clients and the other members of the Kindred do the same. Our goal is to not simply refer each other but also to build community within the event industry.
Your logo is not your brand.
Your logo is not your identity.
Your logo identities your company in it’s simplest form, and what your logo means is important.
Here are a few helpful questions I ask my clients.
> What is your companies mission and vision?
> What words best describe your business?
> What do you want your logo and the elements we create to say about you and your business?
What does it need to communicate to your audience?
